Brian’s Story: Accepting and Living with Seizures
About 4 years ago I had to accept and learn how to live with seizures. I’m 29 years old and I experience a headache/migraine and a sense of déjà vu that will at times progress into a seizure.
About 4 years ago I had to accept and learn how to live with seizures. I’m 29 years old and I experience a headache/migraine and a sense of déjà vu that will at times progress into a seizure.
To the Editor: I was diagnosed with Epilepsy in May 2012. In December 2012 I had 2 seizures at home and my family called 911. They took me to the hospital because I had another when they were here to be monitored for three days. The hospital advised DMV and suspended my … Read More
I have been seizure free for 14 months and feel that my epilepsy is not behind me but I should enjoy being seizure-free.
When I was in my 20’s I had 19 tonic clonic seizures in 1 hour. I wound up in a coma for two weeks and had to relearn to talk. This was not the first time I stared death in the face. This is my story.
My life is the same as any other Mom. I wake up in the morning to my kids in my bed snuggled in next to me. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The difference in my case, however, is that heavy stress and lack of sleep are seizure triggers for me.
Knee tendinitis, ankles that sprain easily … most marathon runners are nagged by a particular body part that is prone to injury. My nag is my head. I have epilepsy that, for whatever reason, tends to be provoked by running. I’ll be in the middle of a run, cruising along, feeling great, and – bam! – suddenly have a seizure. Bummer when you’re trying to set a personal record.
As a child, my seizures were a very pleasant experience, but for the longest time my parents thought I was just daydreaming. I went undiagnosed until I was 8. I was having over 100 petit mal seizures a day, and my grades were so poor that I was put into English as a Second Language (ESL) courses because my teachers didn’t think I knew English.
I realize that I am lucky because I have read stories of people and how they struggle with epilepsy. I ask myself, should I be struggling? Should I be worried all the time? But, then I stop and tell myself, NO! This is MY life and MY epilepsy story.